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Any business wishing to purchase plant and machinery will know that the banks at the moment are not the most accommodating when it comes to asset finance. During the credit crunch any independence the bank owned leasing companies had will have been pulled back in under the umbrella of the main bank. What this means is that  now there very little difference in applying for a commercial bank loan or a hire purchase or leasing facility. Indeed you will find that your application for either will probably go to the same underwriter for approval. Never has it been truer that the banks will take into consideration you overall exposure when approving any type of borrow including any outstanding finance lease facilities.

Although credit is hard to come by never has the benefits of an asset finance broker been more important. There are still one or two independent leasing companies in the market that can compete with the big banks. So long as there is not a massive difference in the cost of borrowing why use potential valuable credit lines for purchasing assets and equipment. In deed certain banks will not provide finance lease or hire purchase facilities under £100k preferring to provide loan facilities. Whilst you may think this is the easy option commercial loans do not have the same tax advantages of leasing. For the sake of taking a little effort now it will possibly give you massive benefits in the future.

XL Buisness Finnace is one on the countries lading asset finance brokers and with over 15 years experiance we know all the UKS fiannce companies. All have different sweet spotys and all do things inslightly differing ways . We have the experience and experetese to ensure the best possible funding solutions are sourced for your particulr business.

Many businesses contact us assuming obtaining leasing facilities for new equipment will be a) easier to obtain and b) cheaper than a traditional hire purchase facility. The answer is monthly repayments and ease of obtaining credit is exactly the same. The only difference being slightly different tax treatment. Which finance facility is best for your business depends on your own requirements and preferences.

In both cases the supplier will expect full payout of their invoice and therefore the hirer will be repaying the full cost of the equipment plus interest wheher it is hire purchase or finance lease.  The differing tax treatment is as follows.

With hire purchase all the VAT is paid up front and at the end of the final payment legal title passes to the customer. The equipment is shown in the customers balance sheet as an asset with a corresponding liability for the hire purchase element. The asset or equipment  is written down on a reducing balance basis and as  much as 50% of the capital cost of the equipment can be claimed  in the first year. Therefore  hire purchase may be more tax efficient in the first year especially if the business is making large profits.

With finance lease the vat is spread over the term of the lease agreement therefore from a cash flow point of view it can help businesses that are short of cash. Instead of claiming writing down allowances the monthly payment is offset in the profit and loss account and as such the full taxable benefit is obtained in exactly the same number of years of the term of the agreement. The big disadvantage of a finance lease facility is that the hirer cannot get direct title at the end of the agreement. A finance lease agreement will kick into secondary or peppercorn rentals usually the equivalent of one months payment on an annual basis. Title is usually obtained by selling the goods to a third party and retaining 90-95% of the sale proceeds.